Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's first duty is to the citizens of the Commonwealth. However, his pursuit of antitrust penalties against Microsoft is both counterproductive and harmful to Massachusetts consumers and producers. In joining with eight other attorneys general to limit the ability of Microsoft to bring its products to market, Reilly is carrying water for Microsoft's competitors - firms such as Sun Microsystems, America Online, and Oracle that are, in effect, banking on the courts to accomplish what they have been unable to do in the open market. It is these firms, not the citizens of Massachusetts or the other states bringing this case, that stand to benefit from the sought-for penalties.
The problem, however, is that there is no reason to put any faith in this joyous outcome. There is no evidence that any of Microsoft's competitors is champing at the bit to develop an operating system or, if it is, that the operating system it develops would compete effectively against Windows.
As testimony in the landmark Microsoft antitrust suit drew to a close, attorneys for the Redmond software maker yesterday expressed confidence that a federal judge would reject the arguments of states seeking tough antitrust remedies. "The nonsettling states have completely failed to prove their case," said Dan Webb, Microsoft's lead trial attorney.
After the defense formally rests next week, the judge will hear arguments about how to enforce the final decree with Microsoft, as well as two motions filed by Microsoft to dismiss the states' case. Other motions to be argued include Microsoft's position that peripheral and emerging technologies fall outside the scope of the case and the company's claim that the states' premier proposal for a stripped-down Windows should be summarily denied. Closing arguments are tentatively slated for mid-June.
In the annals of technology, Microsoft Corp. is famous for flubbing its first attempts at new software. But by dint of extraordinary resources and unflinching will, it learns from its errors, re-tools and re-invents until it succeeds. Now the company hopes the same formula has worked in its long-running battles with antitrust enforcers.
Yesterday, Microsoft's lawyers rested their case in the latest round of court hearings, held to determine how its violations of antitrust laws should be rectified. And though some oral arguments remain to be aired, it soon will be time for a judge to retire to chambers, to review a mass of evidence and testimony and to determine the software giant's fate.
If the courtroom demeanor of the judge is any indicator, Microsoft fared well, and certainly better than in its original trial two years ago. Battle-tested and deeply familiar with the technological complexities of the case, its attorneys won favor with the judge as she sustained objection after objection, preventing the states from putting damaging evidence about Microsoft's conduct into the record.
The "new HP" is in the midst of sweeping change as it begins sorting out its PC and server product lines, but one thing is constant: the threat posed by Dell Computer. With Intel-based products--desktops, laptops and lower-end servers--Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer have long faced the steady loss of market share to Dell, which has traditionally been lauded for its efficient manufacturing and delivery processes. HP isn't afraid to learn from Dell, though. "You can look at Dell's playbook and see what you need to do to reduce your costs. We're not too proud to do that," said Mary McDowell, senior vice president and general manager of HP's Industry Standard Server unit. "The engine is getting more efficient."
Microsoft Corp. closed out testimony in its landmark antitrust case on Friday, declaring that the states seeking strict sanctions against the company had failed to prove their case. Microsoft's final witness left the stand, ending 32 days of testimony -- including an appearance by company chairman Bill Gates -- on how best to prevent future antitrust violations. "Microsoft has clearly shown that consumers, Microsoft, and the entire (personal computer) ecosystem would suffer enormous and irreparable harm if the non-settling states proposal is implemented," Dan Webb, an attorney for Microsoft, told reporters. The judge is expected to hear further arguments from the two legal teams starting Wednesday next week, including presentations on how an antitrust remedy should be enforced.
Microsoft Corp. has told major U.S. retailers it plans to announce a price cut for its Xbox video game console within days, sources familiar with those discussions said on Friday. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment, saying the company talks to its partner companies on a regular basis and that "conversations we have with them are confidential." A price cut for the Xbox has been widely expected in recent weeks by industry analysts who have said the cut could jump-start sales ahead of the traditionally slow summer months. That's a key measure since Microsoft's strategy has been to take a loss on the Xbox machine but make money on related game sales and a bigger "installed base" of game consoles means a bigger potential market for games.
Testimony this week from one of Microsoft's top executives has shed light on the software giant's shifting Web services plans and internal power struggles over competing ideas. During cross-examination of his testimony Tuesday, Jim Allchin, Microsoft's senior vice president for Windows, reiterated that the company's .Net My Services plan is still very much in flux, a situation that was previously reported by CNET News.com. The .Net My Services plan is "in a little bit of disarray, Allchin said, according to a transcript of the testimony. "We basically aren't working on it the same way as we were in the past."
Allchin said a plan to offer .Net My Services as a set of tools for big companies is under review. "So our focus is to make sure that we have the products so that corporations can do this within their own (premises)" rather that using Microsoft as an intermediary, he said.
The European Commission is a long way from settling on a remedy for Microsoft's alleged abuse of its dominant position in Europe's personal computer operating system market, a Commission spokeswoman said on Friday. The Financial Times had reported on Friday that the commission was "studying" several possible remedies for its alleged violations. "The commission has yet to come to a final conclusion, and therefore to speak of the consequences of a decision which has not yet been taken is, in my view, pure speculation and premature," said Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for the Commission.
Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley is set to unveil his new venture on Friday, the first independent production company focused on video games.
Blackley and three other game industry veterans are forming the Capital Entertainment Group, which will fund and supervise development of games and then sell the finished products to publishers. The approach is similar to a technique used in the movie business, where a production company gets the film made, and the studio is responsible for promotion and distribution.
Most game development is handled by publishers who work through development studios that they own or fund. Kevin Bachus, another member of Microsoft's original Xbox team and one of Blackley's partners in the new venture, said that arrangement limits a publisher's access to the best talent and encourages a publisher to invest in safe properties rather than potential groundbreakers.
In a presentation that would have been familiar to any user that has grumbled about their Windows-based computer, a Microsoft executive called on Taiwanese hardware manufacturers to help address a long list of PC shortcomings, saying improvements to both desktop and laptop computers were needed to increase consumer demand. In particular, the goal should be to eliminate much of the complexity that is associated with PCs and make them as easy to use as common consumer electronics devices, said Tom Phillips, general manager of the Redmond, Washington, software company's Windows Experience Group, speaking at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference here this week.